QR codes and Quick Chat: turn in-store curiosity into conversations
How to use QR codes and Quick Chat in a shop: where to place them, how to design them, what to write first, how the counts work and a six-step rollout.
Updated 8 min read
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In short
Quick Chat is a link or QR code that opens a focused conversation with your Digital Mind. In a shop, print one where a customer already has a question, give each placement its own link, write the opening message from the customer's side, and read Insights as counts of entries, not unique people. Tell visitors what happens when they scan.
Key takeaways
- Choose a Starting focus (whole store, collection or product) that matches the spot where the code is printed.
- Give each printed placement its own Quick Chat so Insights can report results by link.
- A caption that says what happens on scanning matters as much as the code itself.
- Quick Chat counts entries, not unique people, and country data is an approximate location from IP address.
- A scan is not proof of location, identity or purchase, and a short privacy line belongs next to the code.
Quick Chat is a link or QR code that opens a focused conversation with your Digital Mind. Print one where a customer already has a question: a shelf, a pack, a receipt or a table card. Give each placement its own link, write the opening message the way a customer would, and read the results as entries, not people.
What is Quick Chat, and what can it start from?
Quick Chat is a saved link, with a matching QR code, that starts a conversation instead of opening a page. Under Growth, in Quick Chat, you name it and choose a Starting focus, a destination (Plandora chat, your website widget or a connected messaging account that is ready), what starts the conversation (your Mind's Playbook, a Specialist named in your published Playbook, or an Automation that is On and uses the Quick Chat opened trigger) and an Opening message. Then copy the link or download the QR code.
Match the Starting focus to the code's spot. Product choices come from a connected shop and collections from your catalogue.
| Starting focus | Fits | What the Mind starts from |
|---|---|---|
| Whole store | Entrance signs, counters, receipts, event stands | Your catalogue as a whole |
| Collection or department | Shelf bays and displays | The collection's current eligible products, so products added later are picked up without reprinting |
| Specific product | Packaging, product cards | That product, with its facts resolved again from your catalogue |
A scan is context, not proof. Plandora's reference documentation is explicit that an entry label does not establish where the visitor is, who they are, what a branch has in stock or whether they bought anything. The Playbook still sets the rules, the actions and the handover to a person. Setup offers starting Playbooks such as Retail advisor, which the product describes as guiding shopping and product questions from a store, collection or product.
Where should you put QR codes?
Where the question happens. The Nielsen Norman Group's 13 QR-Code Usability Guidelines (opens in a new tab)[1] (Tanner Kohler, 9 February 2024) puts it bluntly: "Codes must be noticed to be scanned." The table below is a set of starting hypotheses built on that principle, not benchmarks.
| Placement | What a customer likely wants there | Starting focus | Check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shelf edge or display | Choosing between similar products | Collection | At eye line, not behind promotional signs |
| Packaging | How to use the product | Specific product | Test on the real material and finish |
| Receipt | Where to get help or reorder | Whole store, or the product bought | Check contrast on the actual paper |
| Event stand or poster | What the brand sells | Whole store or a collection | NN/g suggests assuming people need at least 15 seconds to scan |
| Counter or table card | Something to browse while waiting | Collection | Face the code toward the customer |
How do you design a code that people will scan?
- Say what happens. NN/g says a logo "by itself is not sufficient contextual information" and wants the text explaining what a scan does to be as visually prominent as the code. Scan to ask our AI assistant which kettle suits a small kitchen beats Scan here.
- Size it for the distance. NN/g recommends at least 2 cm by 2 cm (0.8 in), adding 1 cm to the length and width for every 10 cm of distance to the code. It lists 1 cm by 1 cm as the official minimum.
- Keep dark on light, with clear space. NN/g says to use a dark foreground on a light background. GS1 New Zealand's quick start guide (opens in a new tab)[2] adds three rules for its QR Code powered by GS1: leave a quiet zone on all four sides, avoid reversing light and dark modules, and avoid red or orange, because many scanners use red light.
- Offer another way in. NN/g notes that people can't easily scan a code on their own device, so a direct link works better there. A Quick Chat address is a random token nobody will type, so give people who can't scan your public profile address instead.
- Test before a full print run. Scan with a few phones, in real lighting, from the real standing distance.
On packaging that already carries a GS1 barcode, ask your GS1 member organisation how a GS1 Digital Link could point to a Quick Chat address. A Quick Chat QR code is a plain web link, and Plandora's documentation doesn't cover that setup.
A printed code can't be recalled, but its link can be managed. Editing a saved Quick Chat in Growth keeps the same link and QR code, so a change to its focus, destination or opening message also changes what already-printed codes do. Links created from a product's own page only let you pause or resume them, so those can't be retargeted. Deleting a link stops it and its QR code for good, although past analytics stay available.
How do you write the first prompt?
Write the Opening message from the customer's side, about the exact spot where the code sits. On a Plandora or website destination it is sent automatically when the chat opens; the editor adds that this applies when no product is detected, and that product pages open with your Mind's introduction. On WhatsApp it arrives as a prefilled message the visitor sends with a tap.
Example for a hypothetical kettle display: Which of these pour-over kettles fits a small kitchen? It names the product, asks one thing and can be answered from your Knowledge, where Hi, can you help? leaves your Mind to guess.
Starters are tappable questions that make a first message easy. They appear on your public profile, so use them when the code points there rather than to one shelf. Add a few that match real questions and drag them into order. Then:
- Ask each question in the chat preview. Preview replies use AI credits.
- Ask one your Mind should hand to a person, and confirm it reaches Inbox.
- After launch, find questions marked No answer or Partial in Insights and use Add answer to fix Knowledge.
How does counting work?
Quick Chat counts entries, not unique people, so one person scanning three times can appear three times. The Quick Chat tab in Insights lists results by Quick Chat, so a separate saved Quick Chat per placement is how you compare a shelf with a receipt. Name each one by its place.
| Column | What it counts | Read it carefully |
|---|---|---|
| Opened | Times the link was opened | Counts visits, so repeat scans add up |
| Replied | Entries where the visitor sent a reply | The clearer sign of interest; the automatic opening message does not count as a reply |
| Reply rate | Replied divided by Opened | A way to compare Quick Chats, not a conversion rate |
A Shopper signals card quotes what shoppers said, labelled for example Buying intent, Resolved, Unmet request or Buying concern, beside the Quick Chat it came from. These labels are classified from visitors' statements, which can be incomplete or misclassified, and a reported resolution is not a verified completed business action.
Audience reports country as an approximate location taken from IP address, so it can't tell you which store a scan came from. Plandora doesn't infer a physical sale or staff time saved from a scan, and purchase attribution needs an actual matched order event. Before claiming a lift, compare against comparable periods or a website holdout, as the reference guidance advises. The wider method is in how to measure AI conversations.
What about privacy and consent at the point of scan?
A scan starts the collection of personal data: the visitor's messages, and an IP address used to estimate country. Conversations appear in your Inbox, where your team can read them and take over.
Regulators place notice at that moment. In the UK, the Information Commissioner's Office says Article 13 of the UK GDPR (opens in a new tab)[3] requires privacy information "at the time when personal data are obtained". Its guidance on methods (opens in a new tab)[4] describes a layered notice: a short first layer with key information, such as who you are and how you use the data, and the detail behind it. The ICO says this guidance is under review after the Data (Use and Access) Act.
A printed card can carry that first layer in one line: the assistant is an AI, conversations are stored and may be read by staff, and the full notice is at a named address. A Digital Mind isn't the human expert and shouldn't be presented as one, and AI replies can be wrong, so keep a person involved in financial, legal, medical and other consequential decisions, and don't invite sensitive details through a shelf sign. Other countries set their own rules; see data protection for AI chat in Southeast Asia and AI disclosure and the EU AI Act. Have a qualified adviser review your wording for each place you operate.
How do you roll it out in six steps?
- Get the Mind ready. Fill Knowledge with the answers shoppers ask for, choose a starting Playbook, test it in the chat preview and publish.
- Choose the destination. For the website widget, save the Website page first. For a product or collection focus, connect your shop. Messaging destinations need a ready connection; see the WhatsApp AI agent guide.
- Pilot one store with a few placements. Create one Quick Chat per placement, named by place and product, each with its own opener.
- Print a small batch. Add the caption and privacy line, keep the quiet zone clear and scan every code on several phones.
- Brief the team. Decide who takes over a conversation in Inbox, so a handoff reaches a person. The speed-to-lead guide covers why the first reply matters.
- Review after a full period. Insights defaults to 30 days, compared with the previous period. Compare Replied and Reply rate across your Quick Chats, read the Shopper signals and any handoffs in Inbox, fix the answers behind them, and reprint only what changed. Weigh setup effort and usage cost before adding stores.
Different expert businesses set a Mind up differently; the solutions pages show how.
Frequently asked questions
A Quick Chat is a saved link, with a matching QR code, that opens a focused conversation with your Digital Mind. You choose a Starting focus (whole store, collection or specific product), a destination and an opening message. Your Mind then answers using its Playbook and Knowledge.
No. Quick Chat counts entries, not unique people. Opened can include repeat visits, and Replied needs a visitor reply, so it is the clearer signal of interest; the automatic opening message does not count as one. Country, reported in the Audience tab, is an approximate location from IP address, so it cannot identify a store or a person.
Usually, yes, for a saved Quick Chat. Editing it in Growth keeps the same link and QR code, so changing its focus, destination or opening message changes what printed codes do. Links created from a product page can only be paused or resumed. Deleting a link stops it and its QR code for good while keeping past analytics. Plan one saved Quick Chat per placement.
No. An entry label does not establish location, identity, branch stock, purchase or order status. Plandora also does not infer a physical sale from a scan. Purchase attribution needs an actual matched order event, so treat Quick Chat counts as engagement evidence, not sales.
The rules depend on where you operate, and a qualified adviser should review them. In the UK, ICO guidance says privacy information must be given when personal data are obtained, and suggests short layered notices. A caption saying it is an AI assistant, that chats are stored and where the full notice is would follow that approach.
Sources
- 13 QR-Code Usability GuidelinesNielsen Norman Group · Accessed (opens in a new tab)
- How to create and download QR Codes (quick start guide)GS1 New Zealand · Accessed (opens in a new tab)
- When should we provide privacy information?Information Commissioner's Office (UK) · Accessed (opens in a new tab)
- What methods can we use to provide privacy information?Information Commissioner's Office (UK) · Accessed (opens in a new tab)